The decision of Turkmenistan to join the Cooperation Council of Turkic-speaking States (Turkic Council) as an observer is due to the country’s already active participation in the Council’s meetings and its mutually beneficial cooperation in various directions with the member-states of the organization, President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov said during an interview with Yusuf Erim, the Editor-at-large of the Turkish public broadcaster news channel TRT World, on Tuesday.
"If we talk about the circumstances that led to the decision to participate in the Cooperation Council of Turkic-speaking States as an observer, Turkmenistan always takes an active part in its meetings at a high level. At the same time, our country develops friendly and mutually beneficial cooperation in various directions with all Turkic-speaking states. That's why we decided to participate in the Cooperation Council of Turkic-speaking States as an observer," the official media of Turkmenistan cite President Berdimuhamedov as saying during the interview.
The Head of State expressed confidence that Turkmenistan's observer membership in the Turkic Council will contribute to the activities of this organization and development of political, trade-economic, cultural-humanitarian relations within its framework.
Focusing on the upcoming Azerbaijan-Turkmenistan-Turkey trilateral summit, the Turkmen Leader said the countries are developing trade and economic relations on a mutually beneficial basis.
"It is primarily about such strategic directions as energy, transport and communications. I am sure that Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Turkey are in the forefront and active position in forming a reliable transport and energy bridge in the East-West direction," President Berdimuhamedov said, stating the future meeting will contribute to improving cooperation between the three countries and its move to new directions.
During the interview, the Turkmen Leader also discussed the most important projects of Turkmenistan in the field of energy, transport and trade, naming among them such projects as the Turkmenistan-China pipeline, the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran railway, the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan power transmission lines, the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan fiber-optic communications system, the railway between Turkmenistan and Afghanistan along the Serhetabat-Turgundi route, the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline, the fourth branch of the gas pipeline from Turkmenistan to China and the Afghanistan-Turkmenistan-Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey transport route.
